These objects are evidence of previous epochs and civilizations. They provide sources of information about the origin and development of the cultures in the centre of Eurasia.
Monuments of the ancient Ingal Valley, burial mounds of the Sargatsk culture (3d century B.C. – 5 century A.D.) are sights of the ancient Tyumen region. This is where unique gold objects were found in Siberian graves, including the Siberian collection of Peter the Great, which is kept in the Hermitage now.
One of the most important periods of the region is the process of joining Siberia to Russia (the end of the 19th century). The key event was the campaign of Yermak Timofeevich`s retinue behind the Urals. The name of this legendary ataman who discovered Siberia became the symbol of courage and valour.
In 1586 military officers Sukin and Myasnoy established the first Russian fort behind the Urals – Tyumen. In 1593 a town was founded in place of the fort.
Joined to Russia, the vast territory of Siberia had long been without law and order. The government of Tsar Mikhail Fyodorovich (Michael I of Russia) and his father, patriarch Philaret, taking into account the importance of popularizing Orthodoxy among local people, established Siberian Eparchy in 1620. The heritage of the first missionaries is now represented by the churches - masterpieces of Siberian cult architecture, Siberian icon-painting tradition, and the murals of Holy Trinity Monastery, one of the oldest works of architecture in Siberia.
The 18th century in Siberian history is connected with The Great Northern expedition. As a result, the first inventory of separate areas of the coast of the Arctic Ocean was carried out, the American coast was discovered and the channel between Asia and America was identified. The absence of any territories between Kamchatka and North America was proved, the Southern Kuril Islands were discovered and mapped, and the coasts of the Sea of Okhotsk and areas along the Japanese coasts were researched.
The creation of the Trans-Siberian Railway through Tyumen was a stimulus for the town’s development. The main industry in Tyumen was leather processing, and carpet weaving was developed up until the second half of the 19th century. Tyumen was also an important trade centre. From 1845 to the beginning of the 19th century the Vasilyevskaya Fair was held here. By the end of the decade, more than ten educational institutions were functioning here.
In 1918 Tyumen started to perform its central administrative functions. The capital of the region was transferred from Tobolsk to Tyumen. On August 14, 1944 the Tyumen Region was established. During World War II the town developed its industrial potential due to the businesses that had been evacuated from the European part of the USSR. Having discovered large oil and gas fields in the 1960s, the town started carrying out oil service and transport task in order to satisfy the needs of the North.